Thomasville's Shining Glory

For the first time in over 100 years, the crown jewel of Thomasville is for sale. The historic and grand Greenwood Plantation is being sold by the foundation that has held it after the death of Mrs. Betsey Roosevelt Whitney, the owner (and former wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt's son). Betsey inherited the property from her husband, John Hay Whitney. He can be thanked for bringing us the movie Gone with the Wind an epic Southern classic. He held the first viewing for the movie, right here in Thomasville over at the Showboat Theatre at an adjoining plantation. You may also be familiar with John since he founded the J.H. Whitney & Company which is the oldest venture capital firm in America.

This house was originally built by the Jones family in the antebellum period and was designed by the renowned John Wind that was synonymous with many grand plantation homes in Thomasville. This piece of property is absolutely stunning. It was also the most requested place when people came into the museum. Everyone wanted to go get a glimpse of this gorgeous, stately home. For the longest time, you couldn't see it from the road, but after a pine tree thinning, you can now catch a glimpse through the trees.

This house has been the delight of the elite class of America for generations. In fact, after the assassination of JFK, this is where Jackie came to get away from the spotlight. No one knew she was in town until she was spotted at a local church. In fact, when word spread that she was at that church, all of the Baptist members at the church across the street filed out of their church to catch a glimpse of her leaving the church across the street.

Below is a video that showcases how special this is. A local real estate agent has been assigned the task to sell this property. It has no listing price. None. It is too special to put a price tag on. I will be curious to see who will make the cut and the vetting process to be able to purchase this property. I know that the Foundation will be very picky as to who they will allow to buy this home and property.



If you have the time, I encourage you to watch this sales video about this special home. The historian, Tom is a staple at the museum where I worked and I know he loved every minute of telling the story about Greenwood. I also have had the honor to meet Leon Neel, the forester for the property when he came to the museum a few times. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to him and I could feel his passion for those longleaf trees that he has managed for so long for the Whitney family.

This home will require a special owner. It truly is a work of art. If only I had a 100 million sitting in the bank, I would buy this thing in a heartbeat!